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Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Resume
templates are easy to use and easy to find on the internet but templates are known for boring recruiters and hiring managers. If your resume looks the
same as everyone else’s resume it will not stand out from the crowd. Your resume needs to be the
right amount of required skills and personality. This is the challenging part.
“Personality” does not mean including hobbies or your favorite color. Nor does it mean using fancy fonts, colors, or images. You
want your resume to reflect your work ethic, soft skills, and passion for your
chosen career.

Recruiters
and hiring managers suggest that resumes can stand out from the competition
without sacrificing the professional look and feel. Here are a few tips to help
accomplish this goal, starting from the top:

1. Connect
with Me: Make sure your contact information is thorough and complete.
Use your full name, address, city, state, and zip code. Include one phone
number with the number most likely to be answered and make sure you have your
voicemail set up with a professional message. It is also suggested that you
include a professional email address, one that uses your first and last name,
if possible, and is not a work email address. If you have a LinkedIn
account, place your LinkedIn URL next to your email address but make sure your
LinkedIn profile is complete and not just a “cut and paste” of your resume.

2. Engage! Create an engaging summary
of qualifications to grab the employer’s attention and create a strong first
impression. Employers initially skim resumes, only spending 10 – 20 seconds per
resume, so the top half of the page is the most important. This is your chance
to introduce your knowledge of your industry and the specific job to which you
are applying. It is here that you can show your strengths and diversity of
experience. Elaborate on areas you have worked on that are relevant to the
job description. Visit the resume library to see some examples of an engaging summary!

3. Highlight Results: In your
employment section, you will want to use bullet points to highlight your accomplishments and the results of your actions.
This area can include metrics, quantified achievements, and specific skills
required for the job. Here’s an example:

·Created a
searchable database to log departmental reports, decreasing time spent locating
reports and eliminating use of paper copies resulting in a monthly savings of
more than $1K.

Your employment
section should go back 10 years or to high school, whichever comes first. You will include all of your work history within this time frame, even the jobs that
are not in the field to which you are applying. An employer evaluates this particular section for relevant skills and knowledge and to see a complete work history without any obvious holes in your timeline.

4. Beyond Paid Experience: If you do
not have recent work experience or are new to the world of work you can include
a volunteer section, relevant coursework and projects from your education, and highlight industry certifications. Your volunteer section would be formatted the same way as your employment section, specifying the organization, your
role, and the dates. Volunteerism can also show employers that you are a
well-rounded individual involved in community activities. Another great way to
show personality!

5. In
Conclusion: You can close your
resume simply with the last job entry or with professional memberships
or training that is relevant to the job. It is suggested not to include
“References Available Upon Request”. Employers
assume you will be able to provide references. You will want your references
typed up on a separate document and you will typically provide references on
the application and/or in an interview.

Spending
some time to personalize your resume by reviewing the job description, company
profile, and even the company’s LinkedIn page can show the employer the depth
of interest you have for the job. Use the resume resources available on the WGU Career & Professional Development website to create an eye-catching document and before
you hit the “send” button, let our professional staff review your resume and guide you
through any additional ways to make your resume stand out from the crowd. We
can help you to create a polished, professional document that showcases your
personality while still presenting a resume that employers seek.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Career planning in its simplest form is leading your own
career based on your values and goals as opposed to simply falling into a
career or allowing people or circumstances to dictate what career you choose.
The definition of planning is “the act or process of making plans for
something.” You have to actively engage in building a plan in order to see that
plan become successful. Many people will put together their resume, start
applying to positions on a job board and simply sit back and wait. However, as
the definition suggests, there is “a process” or “action” involved in making
sure that you are planning for long term career success. If you do not take the
time to plan your career, you may end up taking a job that will have you
searching again within a very short period of time.

Here are a few steps to help in assessing your current
career situation and put a career plan into place.

Self assessment - This will take some time and reflection. You want to identify
and prioritize your interests, skills, personality, and values and understand
the influence your attitudes, feelings, and beliefs can have on making
successful career decisions.You will
also want to consider the impact of your career choice on your lifestyle
preferences.

Occupational and industry research – Using your self-assessment results
as your guide, take time to learn about a variety of occupations and industries
including job duties, employment outlooks, salaries, and educational and
training requirements associated with each. You will then want to synthesize
the information to identify a potential career goal.

Short term and long-term goals
– Once you have determined a career goal, consider setting SMART short term and
long term goals to assist in facilitating your career preparation and future success.
Goal setting can help keep you focused, strengthen your commitment to your
career goal, and help you overcome challenges along the way.

Getting the job. Once you have
established a clear career goal, you will want to put a job search plan,
including strategies for the published and unpublished job market, into place.
You will want to create appropriate, well developed, visually attractive
applications and marketing materials. In addition, you will want to research
employers to identify potential opportunities and prepare for interviews.

You may find the MyCareer Plan document helpful in creating your own career plan. Remember
that a career plan is not a static plan; it is ever changing and dynamic. Once
you have the foundation in place (values, interests, skills, qualifications),
you will find that as you learn more about yourself, try out new things and
talk to different people, your plan will adjust accordingly. The key is to
follow the process and make any necessary course corrections to stay on track
for the life that you have identified as satisfying and fulfilling.

For more information about creating a career plan or to
request an appointment with a career specialist, please contact us.